I only have about 22 days left in France. It is unbelievable. I have been so busy the month of April! It has been amazing! Glen came to visit for spring break I met him in Paris. We did all the sightseeing things that I did before with AIFS, in addition to Centre Pompideu and Le Musée d'Erotisme-which was interesting. Everyday, Glen thought it was absolutely essential to get fresh baguettes. It was amusing that he was obsessed with them! Then we took at flight down to Nice and hung out on the Promenade d'Anglais by the Mediterranean and explored Old Nice. We, also, spent half a day in the country of Monaco. We saw Le Casino de Monte-Carlo and a million nice cars that I could NEVER afford. They were probably worth more than my life...by far! :) We saw the Port of Monaco and the Prince's Palace. Because Monaco is still ruled by a Prince, it is a little different when it comes to the government. We had trouble with getting back to Grenoble because the trains were on strike. We had to jimmy-rig our tickets to get to Lyon, the closest city with a train still going to it to Grenoble. By the time we got to Lyon though, the train from Lyon to Grenoble had been erased, too!
Annie and her uncle took us to Chartreuse, where the monks make the alcohol and Chateau de Vizille. We spent a day showing Glen those two places. I think he liked it! :) But then, there was all the trouble with the planes and the Icelandic volcano erupting. I got him to Paris the night before his flight, and we slept on the hard, cold airport floor with hundreds of other stranded travelers. The only reason he made his flight the next morning is because we cut in line, in front of about 500 people. But, he made it home, and that's what counts.
This past weekend, I spent with my AIFS friends in the region of Provence in France. It was probably my favorite trip other than Italy. We left on April 23 and returned to Grenoble on the 25th, but saw so many different and interesting things.
The first day, we drove to Chateauneuf-du-Pape and did some wine-tasting at 10:45 a.m. at the Musée du Vin. YUMMY! I bought a little wine, and then we were on our way to our next destination. Le Pont du Gard was where we ate lunch. Le Pont du Gard is actually, a ruin of a Roman aqueduct built in around 19 B.C. Pretty dang old. It is the tallest aqueduct still in existence in the world and was once around 50km! Quite the civil engineering feat, if you ask me. We picnicked on the rocks by the river, skipped stones, and played in the water. It was an absolutely enchanting place to have lunch! The last place we went that day was the city of Avignon. This is where the papacy was moved from Rome from 1309-1378. We visited the Papal Palace and Le Pont d'Avignon. The city itself was very medieval looking. The city walls from the Middle Ages were still intact and gave the city a romantic feel.
The second day began by driving to Tarragon. We visited the Chateau that was once inhabited by Le Roi René...I think. Miranda gave us a tour and explained what all the rooms were once used for. It was magical, walking around a REAL castle. Honestly, I think that it may someday be the setting for a book I may write. Inspirational, to say the least. Arles, the city where Van Gogh painted, where the Romans built an arena (which they still have bull-fights in) and was an important Roman outpost was quite and VERY "provincial." I saw the actual location of the cafe which Van Gogh painted that is one of his more famous works. :) This made me VERY happy. The small town Les Baux de Provence was next on our agenda. This is where the name Bauxite comes from (you know, the type of rock). The town was built into the rock and was situated on a hill that overlooked groves of olive trees and vineyards. The chateau on the top of this town was in ruins, but still had the fell of something very old, almost mysterious. I wish I could describe better what all of these places made me feel like. The best I can do, I would say, was that they were inspirational in an other-worldly way. At the bottom of the town, was a quarry. Miranda took us to La Cathedrale d'Images, which projected pictures and videos on the walls of the quarry. Music accompanied the images of Australia. It was similar to an IMAX theater, but made out of nature, in that the screens were rock. Once on the bus again, we were taken to Saintes Maries de la Mer, a city situated on the coast of the Mediterranean. On our way, we passed through La Camargue; the swampy marshlands of France. Here, we saw pink flamingos in the wild. Once we were all settled into our hotel, Miranda took us out to a Spanish dinner with a Spanish band and a flemenco dancer!
The last day, we woke up and went horseback riding in the Camargue on the traditional horses of the region. The horses in southern France are born with darker colors and when they get older, they turn white. After horseback riding, I spent the rest of the afternoon laying on the beach and soaking up the sun with my AIFS friends! What a wonderful weekend! :)
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